Patient-Specific Knee Alignment Guide And Associated Method

Abstract

A method of preparing a knee joint for a prosthesis in a patient includes mating a patient-specific three-dimensional curved inner surface of a femoral alignment guide onto a corresponding three-dimensional femoral joint surface of the patient. The patient-specific three-dimensional curved inner surface is preoperatively configured from medical scans of the knee joint of the patient. First and second holes are drilled into an anterior portion of the femoral joint surface through corresponding first and second guiding apertures of the femoral alignment guide.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 800,334 filed on Mar. 13, 2013, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 303,546 filed on Nov. 23, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,398,646 issued on Mar. 19, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 756,057 filed on May 31, 2007, which is now U.S. Pat. No. 8,092,465 issued on Jan. 10, 2012, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 812,694 filed on Jun. 9, 2006. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.INTRODUCTION[0002]Proper alignment of prosthetic components in knee arthroscopy is an important factor in the longevity and function of the implant. Misalignment can cause increased wear of the implant, patient discomfort, and functional limitation.[0003]Although various methods and devices are known for addressing the above problems, patient specific alignment ...

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Misalignment can cause increased wear of the impla

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